Endometrial Biopsy Done!

Today, I had two different appointments involving my uterus.  In the morning I went to my local RE clinic that does my monitoring for NEDC to have my baseline ultrasound and blood work done.  Later this afternoon, after a bit of chasing down my results (NEDC again did not receive the faxed results even though the clinic said they faxed it earlier), I was told my lining was 2.1 mm and my estradiol was less than 2, both which are good numbers.  I start my Es.trace (estrogen) pill tomorrow, half a pill twice a day.

After that appointment, I had my endometrial biopsy with my gynecologist in the afternoon.  Half an hour prior to my appointment, I took 2 A.leve tablets for pain relief.  The procedure went about how I expected it.  There was not a lot of pain, but definitely a lot of *discomfort*.

The goal of this "biopsy" is not really to collect a sample of the lining, but was to "scratch" the surface of the lining, to fluff (my words) things up a bit.  Research has shown that it can help with implantation for women that have a hard time getting pregnant.  And Dr. Keenan recommends this for patients doing their third attempts at NEDC.

**TMI Warning**
Here's a brief description of the procedure.  If you don't want to know the details, you should skip this part.

After inserting the speculum, the doctor washed the cervix with a special solution.  He explained that it is the same stuff they use for surgeries at the hospital.  The cervix was then grasped and help in place with a clamp.  He explained that novocain (local anesthetic) would be administered to the cervix.  At first I thought it was going to be swabbed on, but he said nope, it was going to be injected.  He injected the novocain twice and it didn't feel bad at all.  I thought well, if being injected didn't hurt, then the biopsy couldn't be that bad.  And I figured since I had novocain, I should be OK, right?  Well..... I was wrong.

I wished I had asked to look at the tool he was using but I was too nervous.  The tool was inserted through the cervix into the uterus and was moved up and down quickly.  He did this a few times and I really started cramping up.  I was not in a lot of pain, but it was extremely uncomfortable.  He remove the tool (I'm assuming to remove some tissue or clean the tool), put it back, and repeated as before.  This time it got REALLY uncomfortable, I actually made an "ugly" face and said "ow, ow, ow".  Looking back, I guess it did hurt after all (and I think I have a fairly high pain tolerance).

The good thing was it was done very quickly.  I think from the start to the end, it took less than 10 minutes.  I was so grateful that it was done.  The doctor had me lie down to rest for about 10 minutes before he said I could get dressed and leave.  I took advantage of the time to read a magazine catch up on celebrity news.

Because the goal of this procedure was not to collect a sample, no tissue was sent to pathology.  As the doctor said, it's one less thing I have to pay for.

I'm so glad this is over with.  I was quite nervous about having to do this.  However, I'd take an endometrial biopsy over a D&C any day.